


Like Real People Do

by IsabellaLynn



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Best Friends, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Crime Fighting, Dismemberment, Goddesses, Gore, Gun Violence, Heartbreak, Inhumans (Marvel), Loss of Parent(s), Mind Manipulation, Mind Palace, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Old Gods, On the Run, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Reality Stone (Marvel), Sokovia Accords, Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie), Superheroes, Telekinesis, Telepathy, The Author Regrets Nothing, Travel, Violent Thoughts, Warnings May Change, tearing the world apart for the one you love, terrifying telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27939097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabellaLynn/pseuds/IsabellaLynn
Summary: Hold my hand, The gods above are merciless, but what of the gods who roam below with us? They wear our faces and speak our voices, earning our trust and using our simplemindedness to gain power. They plague our nations and corrupt our hearts, so all I ask, is that while their reign continues, you hold my hand through the pain, for you are the worst god of them all, and my heart is the most corrupt.
Kudos: 5





	1. Prolouge

Under construction bitches. 

(Thank you all for 37k reads on my previous posting of this fic! but I'm changing it around because a couple of cunts made me feel bad about it, and now I'm making it into something even better)


	2. 1. Among Faults, There is Failure

_ Hold my hand, The gods above are merciless, but what of the gods who roam below with us? They wear our faces and speak our voices, earning our trust and using our simplemindedness to gain power. They plague our nations and corrupt our hearts, so all I ask, is that while their reign continues, you hold my hand through the pain, for you are the worst god of them all, and my heart is the most corrupt. _

  
  


+

_ It’s truly terrifying how much of yourself you lose when the person you love most, dies. It's a foreign pain compared to departure, or the deaths I’d witnessed throughout my long years. _

I’d lost a lot of myself over the years, most days, I found myself truly believing I don't know why I was immortal, playing human with these children.

“Are you alright?” Natasha asked, sitting on the sofa across from me, noticing how long it had been since I'd even blinked, staring out the window of the compound to the grassy areas outside.

“Im waiting, he is supposed to return today,” I didn’t look away from the window, awaiting the crack of lightning and the formation of the bridge to hit the ground outside.

“Thor is supposed to be bringing information about the situation with Asgardian weapons ending up on earth, yes,” she said, several of the melee weapons had come into the wrong hands as of late.

“No, I care not for what Thor brings, I'm awaiting Loki” I always wondered when the nights grew to be too lonely with only the voices of the dead to keep me company if the Bifrost would allow me to travel to Asgard if I truly tried. As a goddess of their realm, there had to be a possibility, but would the gatekeeper I'd seen so clearly in my memories, let me? Did their people still fear my mother’s name, just as Odin worshipped it? Did he understand my power, that not even she possessed, the magic that flowed through my eternal veins? How chaotic it could be, but also how truly divine and beautiful its touch could feel.

I was lost in thought, that when the crack of lightning finally came, I burst from the couch and began dashing through the compound halls, Natasha following closely behind, even at her best sprint, she wasn’t a match for me as my bare feet touched soft grass. It took a lot of restraint to avoid moving through the soul portals to get around when others were watching, though I knew I could only move short distances without it showing on my body.

The light hadn’t even fully vanished by the time I jumped forward, wrapping my arms around the second prince’s neck, spinning around together as soon as his hands reached around my hips.

“Where’s my welcome hug?” Thor asked amusedly, but I frowned, letting go of Loki, standing close beside him.

“Im sure you receive plenty of welcome parties on Asgard, being as the royal guard favors you,” I said, Loki looked curiously at me, both of them were typically dressed in unusual attire to those on earth, but still, even with Natasha and tony’s typical niceties, it made the leggings I’d been in four three days look awful.

“I’ve never told you about any royal guard have I? Or is it only a guess of yours?” he asked, through his many stories he’d brought, he never had… but he couldn’t know.

“You have, you must be forgetful of just how much you talk sometimes, I remember at clear as my first memory,” 

Natasha scoffed lightly at the idea, but my first memory of my own was of a rushing river flowing above me, how the water filled my lungs so quickly, and how it stung as I kept inhaling the fresh rapids.

“Do you have any memories of the dinosaurs? Cavemen perhaps? Or maybe, a first birthday,” she taunted, I knew it was playful, but sometimes, this world, its people and their tiring jokes, wore thin on my nerves.

“My birthday, as far as I know, is a few days before the winter solstice, but what's the point in having a birthday, when you can’t fit all of the candles onto the cake?” I asked, I never felt interested in birthdays, while I did enjoy cake more than life itself, presents were boring. There was nothing in this world that I couldn’t easily get for myself, I didn’t need anyone to provide it for me.

Did I know my birthday? Yes, I did, but keeping up with the little lies is what keeps everything together, when lies start to unravel, people get hurt, and chaos soon follows.

“Why haven’t you told me that? you know my birthday is only a few days before Midgard’s winter solstice too” December 17th, the birthday we both shared the night where he, on Asgard, likely celebrated, while I, on earth, sat on the couch, and waited.

“Would you have come down to earth to celebrate with me if I had?” I questioned him, Thor and the others began walking towards the compound, Loki and I followed close behind.

“Do you think so lowly of me to believe I wouldn't? I'm truly wounded” he placed a hand to his chest, feigning an expression of injury that only the most dramatized of actors could’ve portrayed.

“No, but I do think of you as dramatic, and would want nothing more than for you to enjoy your birthday in your kingdom,” throughout my many years, I’d gone through nearly every language, old and new, though I had to be reserved to my native tongue, my  _ mother’s _ native tongue, and that accent I’d developed, often slipped through, despite my gift of all speak that every Asgardian shared.

“Odin would be displeased to hear of your phrasing, perhaps he’d strike you down for it if he wasn’t already considering it for your lack of favor towards my brother” we stepped back inside, walking behind as we traveled through the hallways, the open windows beside us allowing the outside light to peek in.

“He could certainly try, but a king who wishes not for war and control, is a wise king, I’ve seen many eternal kingdoms become greedy with power, and return to the dirt before their kings even had time to live… they desired more power than their human lives could handle, and it consumed them as it will consume thor someday… his own pride gets the better of him often, and your own desire for the throne, often clouds your judgment, I cannot say whether or not Odin is a good king based off of either of your accounts, for you despise him for the lies he fed you, and thor looks up to him as the man he wants to be someday” the kings and rulers I’d met before, were always blind with their own desires, thoughts only led by their want, not their needs… I always feared that Loki would become blind with a drive to become his brother’s equal, and it would destroy him.

He chuckled, his hands now clasped behind his back as he walked, the other turned into the lab, talking with Bruce who stood at the tables, analyzing the newest of weaponry found, while we stood by the windows.

“So you think you have what it takes to rule?”

“I have ruled, I have sat on thrones above people with less worth than me, and I have sat behind them, whispering into the ears of marionettes, controlling from the shadows, because there is nothing more powerful than making someone believe they are acting on their own free will while being controlled” he turned to me, smirking, glancing back at the people talking behind us.

“You would look ravishing in a crown,” he said quieter, it was a tricky move, but for a moment, to his eyes only, my crown of thorns became visible, and I saw the wonder flash in his eyes.

“What?” I asked cluelessly, but he shook his head and looked away, convincing himself what he saw wasn’t true, it couldn’t be.

“Do you not find a love towards a crown yourself? Is that where your preference for your horns comes from?'' No, it's not, but Loki has his own free will to wear them, so I assume there's a preference behind it somewhere.

“Horns, on Asgard, especially ones like mine, are a sign of mastery when it comes to magic, but I do have a fondness towards them if I must admit” I smiled at the idea of him actually believing that his fondness of headwear, was something worth admitting rather than simply telling.

“Your mother, Frigga is it? Is she not a master too, does she have a headpiece as well?” I pretended to feign a lack of knowledge towards the honorable queen, it fed into his ego just as much as it did to mine knowing that everyone around me knows only what I let them know.

“She has a crown of sorts, but she does have an identical copy to my own somewhere in her collection, though hers was more fit for a woman, only crossing her forehead instead of covering” he continued to stare at me for a few moments longer, pending on a question rolling around in his mind

“You’re awfully talkative today, typically, you won't even talk to me until everyone has gone to bed, have our meetings in the middle of the night become too scandalous for your tastes?” he rested his arm on the metal window frame behind me, looking only a short ways below himself to me, but I didn’t give him the gushing reaction he longed for.

“Or is it you, who had grown embarrassed of nights where I'd have to carry you back to your room? Or where the high and mighty prince of Asgard, sleeps on the couch in my quarters, wrapped in a blanket, wearing clothes I stole from Bucky's room?`` I taunted, even now, in the top drawer in the dresser of my bedroom, there still sat a pair of sweatpants and several stolen t-shirts that I'd gotten from Bucky's room, who was the closest match in size to Loki that I could find. He never seemed to notice the missing clothes, or perhaps he’d believed it was nat who had taken them and didn’t bother to ask.

“Well then, if you find so much power in belittling me, perhaps you derive a different sense of ruling than thrones and people,”

“No, I rather enjoy the throne I sit behind right now,” I glanced to where Tony discussed the weapon with Thor, who would nod every few seconds to make sure he looked like he understood.

“Wicked girl, I always did feel there was a bit of trickery somewhere in you” 

“You honestly, have no idea  _ your highness” _ I replied, Tony looked up from the weapon over his slipping glasses, but glanced downward again when he got the feeling I'd seen him out of the corner of my eye.

“You find too much joy in mocking me Keres,”

I smiled again, Thor had less of an idea to look away, even after I looked up for a moment, he smiled and waved like an idiot before returning to whatever's on the table.

“He has a heart of gold, but sometimes I really wonder if there's anything inside that head of his…” for someone who had been admired his entire life as an all-powerful god, the two both had egos larger than a planet itself, but thor's more or less seemed to drain on his spiteful senses or anything that would act as higher intellect.

“You never met him in his younger days either,” Loki added,

I looked knowingly at him, 

“And you mean to tell me, that you  _ never _ become so full of yourself, that my only option to shut you up, is to put you to sleep? Or perhaps locking you in a room long enough for me to walk away?” his proud expression dropped for a second, knowing my truths, he was one of the most entertaining to toy with.

I slipped away from the wall amidst his subtle shock, walking a few steps away towards the left corridor,

“ help your brother with what you came for, I’m going to order some food,” I continued walking towards the door,

“You better be paying on your own card!!” Tony yelled after me, but with what appeared to be a sleight of hand, I raised one of his many cards in my fingers as I walked away, disappearing into the outer hall, only then did Loki break from the wall.

“Every time, you know, if I had a thousand years to waste away, I would've done something more useful than becoming a pickpocket!!” tony yelled after me, despite me being long gone now,

Nat chuckled underneath her breath,

“She's a damn good one, and I don't know how you expect her to pay without a social security number, a legitimate identity, or a stable income outside of the pocket change she picks up in the laundry from steve,” Natasha added, Tony could only agree, giving Loki a particular glare as he joined the others at the table, Tony still wasn’t on the best of terms with Loki for whatever reason.

“If it weren’t the only thing that could get her out of her quarters, I would sell your greasy ass to the highest bidder,” Tony said in a neutral tone, though it was no real surprise to anyone, unlike me and Loki’s usual back and forth snide comments, Tony and Loki had quite the opposite effect on one another, with constant bickering and spite towards the other.

“And for a man with less than a century of life, you’d sell for a silver coin on Asgard… your type are what we call,  _ laborists” _ Loki replied, looking over the item displayed in front of him with little interest, it was nothing of power to him, no life coursing through its metal.

“Well from the sound of it, that’s what we call slaves here on earth” JARVIS continued scanning the object, finding no matches within any sort of records across the globe.

“And a fine one you would be,” thor jabbed his brother in the side with his elbow, 

“Asgard has not had laborists in nearly a thousand years, my brother only messes with you,” Thor corrected, though it seemed not important to Tony in the slightest.

“Im, not the one whipped here,” Tony muttered beneath his breath, not looking up as both Thor and Loki looked visibly confused.

“I understood that one,” Steve spoke up, 

Loki thought for a moment, and thor looked like he was trying to,

“Whipped? I have never been whipped in my life,” Loki retorted, trying to defend himself against something he didn't understand,

Natasha tried to keep herself from bursting out into laughter at the ongoing conversation,

“I'm sure you haven’t, buddy” tony held the back of his hand against his mouth to keep from laughing too, leaving both princes thoroughly confused.

“Do you know what he means? I’ve never been whipped,” Loki whispered to his brother who shrugged, but the others could no longer contain their amusement at the two foreigners’ confusion.

+

Everyone seemed to grow bored of the objects found, finding their way into the kitchen where I stood at the counter, the bags of delivered food sitting on the counters empty as I stood at the stove, mixing ingredients in a bowl on top of its surface, the area filled with the scent of chocolate as the cake in the oven began to rise, the sickly sweet scent instantly caught the attention of everyone as I continued to hum to myself, music blasting throughout the open kitchen, flooding the speakers that were tucked everywhere.

My hands were close enough to my phone, that when I lowered the music without touching it, no one noticed.

Tony came up to my side to take a look at the icing I was making in the bowl, dipping his finger onto the rim of the glass and tasting it,

“I shit on you a lot but bless your baking”

“You better have washed your hands before doing that, you’ve been touching those disgusting objects all day,” I glared, by the look he gave me, I assumed he hadn’t. Turning around, he began washing his hands in the sink as I tried my hardest not to think of what sort of germs just made it into my frosting.

“Disgusting, just imagine the diseases that can easily kill you and your simple human body,” I said, still stirring away on top of the stove, I reached across for the small bottle of oil, and put another dash in, splashing some across my forearm mistakenly, I too would have to clean up after this.

“Impenetrable immune system and regenerative system, and somehow, you’re also still human,” he retorted, I didn’t reply, simply biting my tongue as I knew any signs of my disagreement, would lead to suspicion.

“Your time is short stark, I’ve seen many people that I’ve come to know, die of simple illness long before it was their time, it wreaks havoc on entire civilizations in the shadows,” the oven beeped and ii opened the door, the slight smell of gas and heat hit me hard, but as I reached my arm in, the oil-slicked across my skin caught, setting my arm ablaze as I jumped away with a scream, whipping the flames away with the invisible help of my power, falling down against a cabinet on the floor as everyone tried to get closer.

The flame, the smell of burning skin, it amplified, it made me feel weak and useless, it made me fear, I hated fire more than anything, and I was frozen in place in fear.

I could almost feel her blood on my hands, the weight of her body against mine, my skin was already healed over again, but I didn't move once.

“Keres, are you alright?” Loki stepped forward, Natasha kneeled down beside me, trying to put her hand against my shoulder, but my body reacted instinctively, and I shoved her away, standing to my feet on my own, tears welling in my eyes,

“I'm fine,” I walked past, the flame in the oven extended for only a second, before completely extinguishing as I exited the room, hurrying back to my quarters, out of the corner of my eye, I could almost see the two figures looming together, standing between Loki and tony, their expressions grim. I ignored them as I pressed further.

“What was that?” tony asked once I’d finally gotten out of earshot, looking around, and then to the oven, its switches all turned off.

“Did anyone see her turn the oven off either?” he asked, he definitely hadn’t and Loki saw the small rush of flames before their extinguishment, quickly, he chimed in.

“I turned them off when she screamed, she didn’t touch them,” he lied, raising his hands with a spark of green to further his story, Tony bought it, and still looked at the oven cautiously.

The flame had coated my entire arm, and he’d seen the look of pure horror from the fire. He’d seen me shot, stabbed, beaten, and bloodied, but never had he seen me look so terrified, especially of such a small wound compared to the others.

Once I reached the furthest northern hall and there were no more cameras or surveillance, I stepped through an opening of shadow and appeared in my room once more, dropping to the ground with a horrifying scream that no one outside would hear, the glass around me shattered, my mirror split into thousands of shards, and the floor filled with smoke, covering the windows and fixtures, voiding all light in the room, darkness twisting around me violently, tearing the glass up with it, creating a whirlwind as I let the rage and despair seep from my body. I hovered in the center of the chaos, my arms outstretched beside me, the black turning into crimson as I let all the memories fill me, the two figures standing calmly before me, one whose grey skin, matched their ashy hair, their pupils white, contrasting the pools of ink that were his scleras.

The woman, much shorter than the other, had hair red as flame, wore pride like a fragrance, and it smelt so beautifully on her, though the splatters of blood across her face and the gashes that turned her gown into a dark mess made me scream again as the pain ripped from me, I tried to close my eyes, but they remained,

When all fell silent, and I was thrown back onto the floor, the room stilled, and the fog dissipated into nothing, the figures no longer stood looming above me, I was alone.

I sat on the floor for several long moments, breathing heavily as I brought myself back from the brink of snapping, where the magic that flowed through my veins felt the need to take over, to cause indescribable chaos.

It had been bad before, especially on the anniversary, but still, this time, it felt almost too real.

When my hands stopped shaking, and I no longer got the feeling as if I wasn't where I truly was, I restored the mirror and glass, I fixed the room around me with one pass of my hands, and then I turned to face myself in the mirror. 

It took one thought, and suddenly, my tired expression and worn clothes restored themselves into new attire, 

I waited alone in my room for hours, sitting in the corner by myself, listening to the whisper of shadows all around me.

Today had ended with shattered glass and burnt cake.

  
  
  


  
  



	3. Lies Retold

The sky had turned dark, stars filling the night sky with a flurry of blues and blacks, specks of white across the canvas above. I admired the stars, but most of all, I envied them. They were eternal to most, but still, one day, they would have the chance to burn out and die, to join the matter of the universe as one, something I would never achieve. 

There was no sign of abnormality throughout my room, nothing remaining that could show what had happened in here only a few short hours ago, but magic leaves traces, and lots of it when you have magic like mine, but I knew to cover traces to the best of my ability, to hide them behind the magic that lives within every living being on Midgard, while its small amounts that proved nothing when it truly mattered, it was easy to hide my power behind people like Steve, Tony, and Nat. Thor was the easiest when the two visited, though it was different than applying it to the others, and it was enough to allow someone who visits to take some with them for a while, spread it out across the realm, then keep it in one place.

There was a knock at the door, and my head turned quickly, my arms still wrapped around my legs as I sat beside the large window, I could see through to who it was, and I had half the heart to smile, I still didn't.

“Come in Loki,” I called, the door opened in a pathway of green, and he stepped through, a look of subtle concern on his face. 

“How did you know it was me at the door?” he asked, glazing back at the still closed opening behind him and then back to me,

“Intuition,”

“Really? Intuition?” he questioned, I didn't get a sense of actual suspicion from him as he sat down in the armchair in front of me, and I still remained on the floor.

“Who else comes to my room at this hour?'' I replied, looking out the window once more, the moon's glow illuminated the fields outside enough to see the wilting rose bushes, and the crows of night outside.

“And what happened in the kitchen?” he pressed

I took a sharp inhale,

“I dont like fire, it just scared me, that's all” it wasn’t a lie, fire really did terrify me, it made me feel so small, and I really was scared back in the kitchen

“I'm not talking about the accident part, I'm talking about you destroying the oven without touching it. Stark tried to turn it on again after, and everything inside of it was rusted and decayed,” I looked up, for a moment, my expression of shock slipped through.

He accepted this answer,

“It's a gas oven, they tend to warp and rot when not properly taken care of, that's probably why the fire caught so easily.” my hand slipped behind my back slowly, I didn’t want to hurt him, and I wouldn’t but I would make him forget, even he couldn’t be trusted.

“I covered it up for you, the others didn’t notice, I simply told him I accidentally broke it after I turned it off myself,  _ my magic _ got out of hand,” smoke-filled my hand with a mixture of scarlet, warping around my fingertips and preparing to move.

“What are you implying Loki? That I have magic of my own? I assure you if I did, I wouldn’t be wasting it here” I slowly rose to my feet, my hand still tucked slightly behind my back, but he also rose to his, and I took a step back, 

“You did it, I know you did,” he continued “I want to know how you did, what sort of magic you’re using, no Midgardian could simply erode steel, even with powerful magic,” he came forward, assuring I was completely focused on him until the Loki before me slipped away, and a pair of hands grasped mine from bing, pulling them forward and I was pressed suddenly against the one behind me.

“What's this then? Were you going to attack me keres?” o should have known, and still, he’d tricked me, holding me still against him, one of my wrists in each of his hands, his grip tight. The shadow and scarlet fell between my fingers into nothing, but the damage was already done.

“It won't hurt a bit darling, I promise, you get it right?” I asked, my other hand twisting slightly in his grip, I could escape him, but not without harming him,

“What is it? Tell me and I’ll let you go,”

“You’re going to let me go whether I tell you or not,” my other hand filled with complete crimson, no shadow to coat it and conceal, only raw magic left behind.

“Am I?” he replied sarcastically,

My eyes turned into short slits, light slipping through, turning them a bright white, while my sclera filled with night, “you really were one of my favorites Loki, I apologize for this,” my hand blasted at my own body rather than his, letting my body move through his to come out behind him, lifting him up over a foot off the ground with an extended hand,

He looked at the power wrapping his limbs, holding him in place. The room was sealed, no sound, nothing would get through.

“Thank you for keeping it to yourself, this will only take a moment and then I’ll get you right to sleep,” the tendrils of magic slipped closer and closer to his head, he didn’t look fearful, but rather impressed.

“It's beautiful… tell me, before you try and get into my head, what are you really,” he looked down on me, I still held his gaze, the longer I stayed like this, the more my form would revert,

He was right though, he couldn't remember anything I told him, I might as well humor both of us by indulging him,

“ you and I are truly the same, we’re told we’re Asgardians, only to find out we’re a fucked up mix of the two” my grip tightened ever so slightly “ my mother served Odin for thousands of years before her death upon having me, apparently giving birth to a child whose father is a being of the cosmos, can kill even the goddess of death” I tilted my head ever so slightly.

“I get so tired of playing this game with you every time you come to visit, it really ruins the fun of having you around,”

“Every Time? Have you entered my head before,”

“Apologies darling, but I really can't have anyone knowing, it gets people killed, you haven’t remembered before, and you won’t remember after this, it's the same song and dance,” I lowered him to the ground again, onto his knees, I kept him in place as he tried to free himself with his magic, tried to trick me and pull himself away from one form and into the other, but I stepped behind him, getting onto my own knees, placing my hands on either side of his head gently, the tips of my fingers pressing into his temples.

“Keres wait-”

“Shhh” I cooed, his eyes fluttering shut as I let the red flow from my fingers and into his mind, pulling away the memories of tonight just as I had done many times before, I let him fall over, asleep in my arms with a completely made-up night of memories floating in his mind.

We had talked for hours, I'd let him tell me stories of Asgard, and then he’d fallen asleep in my room just like every other night he visited, asleep on the farthest end of my bed, dressed in those old borrowed clothes from Bucky.

His leathers shifted into the clothes folded on the dresser, replacing themselves in front so that his day clothing appeared neatly folded atop the dresser.

He lay soundly in the bed, surely not to wake until morning, and all would be fine once again, 

“I truly am sorry darling, one day, perhaps there will be a world where I mustn't fear the cruelty of those around me, but for now, my secret must be kept,”

And it will be kept, no matter what the cost, for another loss of mine, might truly end all.


End file.
